Most fans don't care if Barry Bonds took steroids

The book and the book hype makes one person (Bonds) a scapegoat for a baseball problem that was widespread and supported within baseball organizations. In any case steroids may enhance home runs, but they do not improve hitting. Hitting is still an art. And Bonds is the best artist. How about writing a book about the hundreds of .200 hitters in the majors and minors that took steroids?

i'm sorry, but I am one of those people who think barry bonds, gary sheffield and anyone else who has used steroids should be banned from the sport. every athlete that used steroids to improve upon their statistics has slapped honest players in the face. Also, many of these people have received larger than normal contracts due to their numbers. those salaries translate to higher ticket prices which as far as I'm concerned is money being stolden from myself any many other fans.

well Roman, I'm a fan of Baseball and I do care. the whole steroids/hgh era is a big lie! the records (helped by changes Baseball made-smaller parks, livlier ball) is all about money. Baseball is turning into the WWF!

I cannot believe the lies coming out of Dusty Baker's mouth. He managed this guy for 5 years and had no clue he was doping everything but the kitchen sink? Tells me he's either a moron, or a cheater (probably both). That and the fact he sucks as a manager makes me want him FIRED, NOW! Joe Girardi should have been named Cubs' manager, not Marlins -- it's all a crock, Cub Fans.

Oh yeah, we do care. Barry, Sammy, and Mark can grab the next bus to forgotten-land.

We should care when pro athletes take steroids. It's an unfair advantage over players who are clean. It has become an epidemic reaching all the way into high school athletics. It needs to be stopped right now. I have a son who is a wonderful hockey player at the age of 13. If he matures into a great player, I certainly don't want him using steroids to compeete with other athletes who are using the drug. It seems like more money is being spent on research into creating a new steroid that's undetectable to testing then money being spent on ridding it from sports. This is a perfect time for baseball to do something and send a message to young athletes, that this is not tolerable and if you get caught, your going to be stripped of everything you've accomplished.

It's dangerous to backdate punishments. Steroids were not illegal in baseball when Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, etc., were usig them. What if it is true a Doc Ellis coked himself up before pitching for Pittsburgh? Or if an alcoholic had to play drunk? Most Major Leaguers will also say the use of steroids them by pitchers was far more prevalent, but -- because it is harder to gauge -- you never hear about that. And soem of them will be in the Hall of Fame just because they went undetected. Let go of it. If a voter chooses to not vote for anyone for any reason (Minnie Minoso in the Hall of Fame for Negro League players) that's just the way it is. The long-term damage done to themselves will be punishment enough.

OK, lets just take the book as absolute gospel. Cut Bonds homer stats in half from 2000-2006. What do you have? A guy who is likely still a HOFamer. Steroids = bad. We all know this. But take the anger out of it and realize that the man has put bat to ball better than anyone in our generation, and has done it for nearly 20 yrs. So what if the ball goes farther now! Take the homeruns away and you still likely have the best left fielder in history. The bigger he got, the worse his offense got. But, for those first 15 yrs, there was no better all-around player. Not even Griffey, who only had around 8 yrs and still never hit for average.

Uh, actually we do care. Bonds will not be cheered. And it's amazing this San Fran(bias) writer thinks so. Wow, the audacity to suggest fans don't care at this point is amazing. Did we turn a blind eye during the HR years? Not exactly. But now that we look back on the HR years, well, those memories are false. MacGuire and Sosa, false. Bonds getting close to Ruth, false. On a related ChiTown note, this is why Frank Thomas is First Balot Hall Of Fame.

OK, everyone with half a brain knows Bonds did steroids. So with these new reports..now what? If Selig had any stones, he would at least initiate some sort of investigation. Of course, he won't...he'll bury his head in the sand again. Too funny!

HEY, BABE RUTH-TY COBB- MICKY MANTLE ALL USED DRUGS AND IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE IT I GOT A BRIDGE TO SELL YOU. DON'T LISTEN TO SOME PUNK SPORTSWRITER, WHO GREW UP GETTING HIS A-HOLE KICKED RUNNING HOME TO HIS TYPEWRITER. PLAYERS TODAY ARE WAAAY BETTER THAN YESTER YEAR.

who are you to say most people dont care.I agree with G,G,posted march 7 2006

It's time to give more kudos to Frank Thomas. I was one who has been mostly on Kenny Williams's side through the most recent feud (no, Kenny should not have said "idiot" and some personal things).

I have thought of Frank as a bunch of qualities that we don't appreciate. Nevertheless, HE IS NOT AND WILL NEVER BE THE SICK EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN BEING AS BARRY BONDS IS!

Frank NEVER did steroids. Moreover, his character flaws aren't the kind that would have me get my entire neighborhood to do what they could to get Frank move away if he lived next door. Bonds? Oh, without question!

It's more of an immaturity thing with Frank. I don't think he's a bad person at all. Now, with all the fraud we're seeing going down, including Giambi who stole the MVP from Frank a few years ago, I think Frank should get serious Hall-of-Fame consideration.

I've been a baseball fan my entire life and I do care about this issue. I believe that Barry Bonds should be suspended from the game and have asterisks placed next to all of his career numbers. He has left a black mark on our national pasttime. I have young kids who are just starting to learn of this great game and I do not want them watching a drug-enhanced cheater break baseball's most cherished record.

And, I don't think I'm alone here. I think most fans do care about this and believe that Bonds should be kicked out of the game.

The hue and cry should be loud and clear! MLB, clean yourself up before Congress overdoes it. McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro, Canseco should all be kept from the HOF, if Pete Rose is, since they've all cheated. I tried to find an e-mail address on the MLB site to add my opinion, as a multi-year season ticket holder, to the pile I'm sure is building up in Selig-land, but there is none, and the guy who I got on the phone was obviously already sick and tired of the calls. So call your federal representatives. It's the only way they'll listen

I have played, followed and loved the game of baseball for most of my 62 years. Sure, I would prefer that professional athletes played the game honestly and didn't cheat by using performance enhancers. But they are playing against other athletes who are trying to gain an unfair advantage by using them.
Remember that baseball players compete at the professional level because they are driven to be the best and sometimes they lose sight of what is really important. After all, baseball, as much as we love the game, is still a game.
Here's the bottom line. It sets a bad example for our kids to have their sport heros cheat in any way and most importantly they are going to have to pay for taking drugs that are harmful to their bodies. Has everyone forgotten how badly steroids have affected some of our former pro football players?

How dare anyone say that people don't care. Most everybody does care that Bonds is so arrrogantly pursuing the most hallowed record in all of baseball. And all along the way disgracing people who did it the right way like Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth. Barry needs to stop playing the race card and realize that this has nothing to do with him being black and everything to do with him being a freaking jerk. Throw all of McGwire's, Sosa's, Bond's, and Palmiero's records...the lot of them...cheaters!

Roman responds: I'll believe people care when the cheering stops. But only if the cheering stops while Bonds is playing well. When Jason Giambi started slowly last season, he was booed. When he started hitting, he was cheered. And he was as big a cheater as Bonds.

I really don't care how many steroids Barry took and how many home runs he hit, and neither do a good number of people I have talked to. Maybe its because were in our early 20's and couldn't care less about sports records or maybe the reason is that there are more important things to concern yourself with. The numbers and records and accolades are all well and good, but at the end of the day, sports is only entertainment, and I have to say, sports is really entertaining these days. The articles, sports radio discussions, etc. all talking about nothing really. So Barry has hit more balls out of the park than most ballplayers have, is it really THAT important? How many championships has he won? One constantly hears that that is how an athlete will be remembered, by the number of titles he helped his team win, if you ask me, Barry should have taken more steroids.

Oh yea, please no congressional involvement. That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. The last thing we need to do is distract Congress from the work it never seems to do.

The first comment here states that steriods do not improve hitting. Wrong! Many of Bonds home runs would just be long fly outs without their steroid-induced distance enhancement.

Similarly, many ground balls hit at higher velocity become hits rather than infield outs.

Bonds hit .328 from '99 to '05 but only .289 prior to '99. Take away half of his HRs since '99 and his average is only .269 - about what you would expect for his age.

His accomplishments are phony and so are his many MVP awards.

He should be immediately suspended before he falsely reaches Ruth's HR total.

I think that it's unfortunate for the game that as Bonds approaches Babe Ruth and Henry Aaron's home run records that there will be no joy in Mudville. What could have been a shining moment in baseball history will now be an ugly blot. Yeah, he may be the greatest hitter to ever play the game but his greatness and records are tarnished by the steroid stuff. His fate is already sealed, regardless of what he choses not to admit.

Couldn't care less. Thought the McGwire vs. Sosa homerun race was the most exciting thing in baseball in years. It probably saved the game.
While purists and sportswriters treat this like blasphemy. The casual baseball fan probably likes the excitement the homerun brings to the game.

In all sports the athletes have been getting bigger, faster and stronger, so saying the increase in HRs is only because of drugs seems inacurate. Does ARod take steroids or anybody else that has hit homeruns at a record pace, or are they just bigger and stronger naturally? How does taking drugs make you hit more homeruns? Don't you have to work out and practice hitting to do that?

Why do you think football has taken over as the number one sport? It's an exciting fast moving game!

Watching pitchers take forever to deliver the ball, hitters stepping out of box after every pitch to adjust their batting gloves and the resulting 4 hour games is killing baseball. Trying to belittle and tear down the one thing that has kept it alive is crazy.

This talk about a level playing field in baseball is another joke. Tell that to the small market teams that don't have the money to compete. Maybe they should let them use performance enhancing drugs to even the odds.

All of the sanctimonious outrage over Barry Bonds' homerum records is phony and hypocritical. Baseball is simply a business that needs a lot of people to spend their time and money participating as "fans". Why are baseball records SACRED? No baseball record prior to integration should be recognized! If this was the 1930s none of these people upset over Barry Bonds alleged use of steriods would have been raising hell over the fact that Black players were not allowed to compete. It makes no difference to me if Barry's records stand or not because the point is, "who cares", the whole thing is phony.

Barry Bonds is a disgrace. He should be banned from baseball, and needs to be held accountable for what he has done, as well as those who allowed him to do this...Selig! And before he shames Aaron's record.

I don't care what drugs athletes take. It's their body, if they want to destroy it in the end for the fleeting glory, go for it!
I also don't care if anyone gets stoned as long as they don't drive while blasted!
And this is from a guy that has never used any drugs, never smoked anything and never drinks. I am old enough and smart enough to remember one famous line from about 100 years ago: "I don't care what people do, as long as they don't do it in the middle of the street and frighten the horses."
And I'm definitely sick of sportwriters acting as public scolds on this subject, like you guys don't get drunk and then write a story!

I've waited and listened to ESPN radio, watched numerous sports related shows and also read a few articles. In the end, we still only have no answers, only speculation. I keep hearing guys saying "if Bonds doesn't sue these guys or at least respond, it must be true". I'm reading some of these blog posts lauding Frank Thomas for being clean. In the same statement, they are talking about the physical damage steroids take on the body. How many games has Frank played the last 2 years? What makes Frank any different from Bonds. Oh, I know, Frank says he's clean so that's enough. Bonds says he's clean but he has to be lying. My point is, how do we know whats true about these guys. Palmeiro was celebrated by everyone from the radio shows to ESPN tv to Comcast Sports Net for his performance in front of Congress. The key word is performance. We all praised his candor and smashed McGwire for his cowardice. As it turns out, Palmeiro was also a cheater. McGwire was caught with andro in his locker. Bonds has testified in front of the federal government's grand jury that he has not used or knowingly used steroids. The same federal government grand jury that broke Jason Giambi and forced him to admit to steroid use during his MVP season. How do these guys that have authored this book have more info than a grand jury that hasn't moved to indict Bonds for perjury even with all this supposed mounting evidence. Wait, I know how they did it, a spurned mistress, leaked grand jury testimony and the always infamous unnamed sources have guaranteed the basis for this book. He was just so jealous of the 1998 spotlight that he went straight to steroid use. They know Bonds so well that he admitted this to them. No, the spurned mistress gave them this info. It was confirmed by Dan Patrick a few years ago which he is so proud to point out on his "me" platform radio show. Bonds won't even talk to Patrick and Dan has said this on many occasions but he is able to speak intelligently on his behalf. It is pure arrogance to insist that Bonds should bother to respond to this attack. He only has to do one thing: continue to produce 200 walks and no less than 35 HR's this year. He is the best left fielder of all time and that cannot be disputed.

I cannot believe my eyes when people say things like "I don't care what athletes do to their bodies, it's their choice" or "who cares about the HR records" or "Steroids do not improve hitting". First off, the reason you should care is that kids are doing steroids because they are emulating idiots like Barry Bonds. Plus, they think that the only way to make it big in college or pro sports is to do steroids just to stay even with everyone else doing steroids. And, oh by the way, many of them are dying because of it. Do you "not care" about that ?
Is that not important ? Or is it more important to be "entertained" ? And anyone who doesn't think steroids improves hitting is a total moron. If it didn't why would they keep doing it ? All you have to do is look at the numbers. Bonds' best years are between ages 35-41. You name me one player is all of all baseball history who BEST years were over age 35 who didn't do steroids, and I will sell you a bridge. It's not physically possible to have your BEST years over age 35 without steroids. Look, every major leaguer can hit a baseball, otherwise they wouldn't be in the majors, but when you add the unnatural strength to your swing that steroids add, it turns fly balls into long HR's. Also, your recovery time is much quicker. It's a huge unfair advantage, and anyone who does't see that, is putting their head in the sand and is in denial. Barry Bonds is a disgrace...he is a liar, cheater, and a fraud, plus he is a miserable human being on top of it. He should be banned from baseball and NEVER make the HOF. Don't tell me that most fans don't care.

One thing I can say about Barry Bonds is that he has passed all of his drug tests since the program was instituted and he has not shrunk the way other reputed steroid abusers have. Some people will say that his recent injuries are evidence of his steroid use, but Frank Thomas has been injurred in his later years and no one has accused him of doing steroids. Bonds has already admitted using steroids in cream form by accident. At the time steroids were not illegal in baseball. According to Jose Canseco about 60% of baseball players were using steroids at one point. Why is there so much concern with Bonds? Is it because he is not friendly with reports? He is a baseball player. He does his job and has not done anything that hundreds or thousands of other baseball players have done except to out perform them and not get along with reporters.

It seems to me that many sports fans across the nation do not want to face the fact that sports superstars are on drugs. It is not a slap in the face to "honest players" due to the fact that everyone is one, makes it a level playing field

Everyone needs to realize that if you look at professional sports, you condone the use.

Why?

Because sports fans for decades have put a tremendous amount of pressure on these men(and in some cases women) to perform at their peak, consistently. The human body was not made to do that, so when something comes along that makes an athlete perform better, by all means use it. I do not want to go back to subpar performance from strict drug testing. We are use to seeing athletes perform at a certain level, let it stay that way.

You don't want drugs in sports. Don't watch them. Boycott it, then you hit the leagues in their pockets. But seeing as that no one can realistically do that, STOP THE COMPLAINING.

no more hall of fame,onlyhall of shame .not that he cares.

DOESNT ANYONE REALIZE THAT MOST OF THE PITCHERS THAT BONDS FACED WERE PROBABLY ON SOME FORM OF STEROIDS, bonds just took it to the extreme because he wanted to win, JUST DROP IT, IM SICK OF THIS TAKING AWAY FROM NCAA BBALL AND MY GEORGETOWN HOYAS

To all the dummies on this blog who mention "Bonds hasn't failed any tests". Uhhh...they don't take blood during the drug tests. The growth hormones he was taking are UNDETECTABLE in the urine. You can only find it in the bloodstream which baseball doesn't both doing. Stupid people everywhere

We knew he doped, what a disgusting shame. Bonds is the worst example, but Palmerio, McGwire, Sosa, Giambi, Sheffield, Conseco just as bad. Blame baseball's inept leadership, too powerful union and GREED -GREED-GREED from all parties! Bonds doesn't deserve to wear Hank Aaron's jock strap. The sad thing is he is one of the greatest players but will be forever tarnished. Retire Barry!!

My issues with Bonds go further than steroids. Even if he is clean, which I doubt, it appears that Bonds is a racist who cheated on his wife...So what if the steroid allegations came from his 'spurned mistress?' He shouldn't have had a mistress in the first place. Bottom line is, clean or not, Barry is no role model.

the biggest cheater to ever play a professional sport period! do not let him in the hall and if you do make sure it's known hes there for being the best cheater ever.
pete rose has been banned from hall for a lot less and he was the best hitter ever to play the game,they still wont leave him alone.

The Tribune took some shortcuts with the Bonds article. Nothing like taking some vague info from anonymous sources and slanting it a certain way.

Fans who don't believe the lies of Barry Bonds have nothing to apologize for. Anyone with half a brain knows just by looking at him that he's used steroids for years. How can one, looking at his numbers, not come to this conclusion? Prior to his 73 home run barrage in 2001, his career high was 49. And, between the years 1876-1997, only Babe Ruth and Roger Maris had 60 homer seasons. Sammy Sosa has 3 60 homer seasons in 4 years, Big Mac has 2, and Bonds tops Big Mac's 70 with 73 only 3 years after the new "record" is set? Give me a break. Baseball (or Congress if Selig won't do it) needs to hire an outside attorney like it did in 1989 (i.e., Pete Rose) to investigate Bonds. When it's proven that he did use steroids, I hope it's enough to enrage every member of the BBWAA enough not to elect him to the Hall. He has cheated and he has hurt the integrity of the game, just like Sosa, McGwire, and Palmeiro.

Bonds is the greatest hitter to play the game, steroids or not.Look at his numbers. They surpass all previous legends.

I agree 150 percent with the person who said all the holier thans vilifying Barry Bonds are a bunch of hypocritical phonies. And so are the high and mighty whiners in the media and this is not about 'race' my eye! If that's the case the why aren't YOU and the pious media snots going after Mark McGwire. This coming from the very SAME group of people who defended sleazy Bill Clinton at every turn even though he is certainly no 'role model' also a liar and cheater. That goes for all the crackhead,dopefiend,junkie celebrities that are glorified on a daily basis where's all the 'concern' then or blither blathering about 'role models' and what 'message' it sends to the 'kids'. Give me a damn break if you all were worried about role models and the 'kids' you wouldn't celebrate people that leave a whole LOT to be desired and in case you didn't notice hpyocrisy is not a very good message for 'kids' either. Nor is a double standard yeah let'swhine about steroids in a sport that for decades didn't allow players of color would anybody still be upset in the racist policy of baseball still existed?!! Would baseball have a 'problem' or 'black eye' then and you have the nerve to say there's no 'race card' then don't be racist hypocrites.

How can anyone say Bonds was the greatest or a sure hall of famer BEFORE he started on steroids in 1999? His lifetime average was only .289. He led his teams to ZERO championships while batting UNDER .200 in the postseason. Finally he didn't even make the all-century team in 2000 or crack ESPNs top 100 athletes of the 20th century. This greatest of all time stuff only started AFTER the MASSIVE state of the art multi-steroid regimen from BALCO labs. And STOP comparing this massive regimen to McGwire and Sosa. They admitted what they did. Sosa was just caught once with a corked bat and McGwire only used Andro, an approved substance at the time and one Bonds used in 1997 to no avail. McGwire and Sosa are hall of famers. Bonds is NOT.

The steriod issue has nothing to do with race. This is about right and wrong. McGwire did not walk away from this issue without criticism - he got blasted in the media. Palmero also got blasted when he got caught. Giambi too. Please spare me the race card. Bonds is now getting his due - nothing more, nothing less.

I like these guys who say Barry Bonds is a scapegoat. Hey, any criminal who gets caught is a scapegoat because they're a thousand other folks committing the same crime...they just weren't STUPID enough to get caught. No tears for the spoiled Bonds guy. He's got plenty of money...he'll soon be answering those questions from the IRS.

Who cares if Bonds used steroids? The plain fact is that athletes have been using performance inhancing substances since the beginning of sports and in all sports. Athletes in the NFL used horse steroids as early as the 1970's. How do we know that baseball players didn't use steroids back then as well. How do we know Hank Aron didn't use anphetamines or horse steroids? We don't. Let the past be the past and let's move forward for the love of the game. The game of baseball was DEAD before the great McGwire - Sosa homerun chase and then came Bonds beloved season. We may not even be blogging about baseball if it wasn't for those guys everyone NOW loves to trash.

Baseball is a sport, but it is also entertainment. Baseball as an entertainment business was hurt by the strike in 1994. If "Baseball" didn't condone steroid use, it certainly did nothing to discourage it until there was pressure from the consumer market. Look at what the people in Hollywood do to their bodies i.e. plastic surgery to stay in the entertainment business. Our society in general certainly seems to like "bigger than life" entertainment, and that is how we have arrived at this ridiculous position. Believe me this controversey is great for baseball, because if you want to boo Bonds or cheer for him you are certainly "paying" attention to him. Baseball is a business first and foremost. Nobody is out there playing, televising, writing, or advertising for free. If you really are fed up with Bonds and the rest of the steroid inflated athletes change the channel, get a new hobby. If you don't care whether Bonds and the rest used or are using banned and/or illegal substances keep watching. You have the power you are the consumer. Has anybody been to a Blackhawks game or even seen one lately? Next.

What’s all this crap about letting Bonds off the hook for his behavior? Folks, Steroids are ILLEGAL! If anyone gets caught with Steroids in the real world they get busted and do the perp walk. Bonds has brought discredit to Baseball. He needs to be tossed out along with all this records. Don't give me any of that poor ol Bonds, race, it's ok crap! GUILTY!

I think not only should Bonds not be frowned upon. But they should let him and any other athlete who trains, use what they and their trainers feel give them max performance. They get paid tons of money, with the greatest of expectations to perform. They are only doing what we as fans expect. Bulking up, hiting them as they can. Drugs have been in the game from the begining and they will continue to play a major role.

You know what, if most fans don't care if Barry Bonds took steroids then it just shows you that there are a lot idiot, geek people out there that never had enough hand-eye coordination to hit a ball, let alone throw a ball with precision, out there who don't recognize that Barry Bonds CHEATS

The guy named Jack wrote Babe Ruth Mickey Mantle Ty Cobb did drugs! Beer and booze dont make you bigger or stronger what a lame statement! If you dont know what your saying dont say anything.Bonds is a cheater who got caught plain and simple he should be banned from baseball!He has enough money to laugh at all of us!

If it's not about 'race' then why is it the ONLY time I ever hear any of the petty,whiny,high and mighty sniping is when it comes to Bonds? And why is the media using this as an opportunity to vilify him at every turn I don't hear ANY of you making derogatory comments to Mcgwire or Giambi so who are you kidding. And since when is steroids a 'crime' doing drugs like coke and heroin is also a CRIME but we glorify durg addicted Hollywood celebrities on a dialy basis. So get off your high horses before you people get a damn nose bleed and why isn't this column ABOUT Mcgwire if it's not 'race'.

Steriods are on the same level with cheating, throwing games and taking bribes. Wrong is wrong regardless of the color you want to paint it.

I too think Bonds should be suspended or banned from baseball. But not for cheating.
Have you ever seen a single game where the catcher tries to steal a strike, the first baseman tries to steal an out, an outfielder tries to convince the unpire that he didn't trap the ball?
All of these things should be considered cheating, but are done by every team, every day, in every game.
The reason Bonds should be banned or suspended is that he broke the law. He obtained drugs illegally, used them illegally, and shared them illegally.
The proper authorities should be looking into these things now. And put him in jail where he belongs.

If that's the case then every celebrity who does drugs should be in a jail cell:not an awards show.

How can anyone say that Frank Thomas did or did not do steroids... I don't care if you're a Chicago fan or not.

I love Frank Thomas... I've been a White Sox Fan for years.

If he did steroids, I don't care.

However, I digress...

Personally, I like Barry Bonds, I don't care if he did roids... and you know what... I was NOT lied to, and neither were you.

You knew.

You had to know... or you were an idiot. I knew in 94... All of a sudden EVERYONE was destroying the ball.

You were just ignoring it.

You saw McGwire getting bigger every year (beyond the 5-10 pounds of muscle any EXTRAORDINARY person can put on).

You saw the records falling, but you chose to ignore all of those things... Why? Because you loved watching the game... You CRAVED the long ball.

For baseball or it's fans to try to retrofit your "asterisks" because of what someone did is ludicrous.

Hell, how can you define natural... is anyone taking creatine? How about protein supplementation... or even Vitamins...

I certainly don't recall Babe Ruth drinking gatorade or taking complex multi-vitamins... All of these things are "technically" performance enhancing.

It just depends on how you want to look at it.

I think steroids were good for baseball... I think they should still be allowed... I enjoyed the 60+ HR seasons, and I'm going to miss them.

It's human nature to do WHATEVER it takes to get ahead... THAT is what sport is all about.

I think you're all just being altruistic and lying to yourselves about how "right" you all can be.

I think the Hall of Fame should celebrate the finest achievements and its members be examples to all of us. (Especially to the young fans who are the future of the game) That's why it was right to exclude Pete Rose and why all the other cheaters don't belong either. On the other hand, if it is just entertainment you want, then let 'em all in. In a hundred years baseball will be lumped together with pro wrestling and monster truck shows.

there is a lot of things being said about Barry Bonds, but look at the facts not what the media prints. he has taken as passed all drug test, he has always been a good hitter and a good homerun hitter just check his career stats. so why can't a person break a homerun record and it not be due to steroids. kode bryant is a good basketball player who averges 30pts a game, he scored 81pts in a game is that due to steroids? the man can just hit, he has good hand eye coordination. steroids do not improve hand eye coordination because if they did it would be alot of people taking them. until they prove for a fact that he took steroids i think you should leave him alone

recently a suntimes sport writer picked the cubbies to win thier division. i have only one question for that writer. is he nuts ? i am just kidding . i do hope all the best for the cubbies and all i can say is go sox

I wouldn't vote for Barry Bonds to be elected to the hall of fame.
I would vote for Sammy Sosa.
Sammy never took performance inhancing drugs.
Bonds is arrogant he aint the best ever.
The Babe was by far a better hitter than Bonds.
The Babe was in a class of his own.
I also hope Sammy hits 600 homeruns this year.
Go Cubs!

If you assume that Barry "obviously" was using steroids because he improved from 49 HRs to 73 HRs, then logically you also have to assume that Babe Ruth clearly used steroids starting in 1919. His career high was 11, and then in 1919 he exploded for 29 HRs. Then in 1920, he really hit the juice increasing from 29 to 54 HRs.

Obviously I'm being sarcastic, but the stupid logic of the progression is ridiculous. Bonds stated before the 73 HR season that he was going to break the record. He changed his focus from being a great hitter with good power and changed his swing slightly and started driving the ball out of the park regularly. Anyone who watched him hit 73 HRs could tell that he had changed his plate approach. He was focused on only swinging at strikes, and he absolutely owned the strike zone. The series against the Astros, Bonds had somewhere near 20 plate appearances and walked 14 times, was HBP twice, and went 3-5 with a couple doubles and HR #70. During the whole series, he saw about 4 good pitches. He hit all four of them, hitting 3 extra base hits and lining out once. The guy was just ridiculous. Extra strength doesn't help that kind of hitting.

Then, before the next season, Bonds said he was going to win the batting title. He stopped focusing on the HRs, and instead on getting hits through the shift. He hit .370 and won the batting title.

If he ever used, I don't think it was for very long. Otherwise, he would have shrunk like everyone else involved did. I've heard lots of theories about how people might be able to cycle steroids and HGH and not lose the weight, but does anyone really believe that Barry Bonds, and only Barry Bonds was smart enough to figure this out?

The other problem with the accusation of steroids by "sight", is that if you assume that with Bonds, you have to assume the same thing about Roger Clemens, Albert Pujols, and anyone else who is enormously muscular.

Every time a black person points out the racist cry baby sore-looser attitude of the media. some fool responds by saying something along the lines of "no pity" or "no sympathy" For Bonds..... No one is seeking pleading for or needs your sympathy or approval (especially not Barry) simply pointing out the blatant facts............Barry Bonds is being singled out for criticisims that fit many other white players in cluding "ROID-RAGE" Clemens who somehow is givien a pass during the so called legitimate scruitny of old age athelets who excell pass their mid thirties. Its hard for you bitchy moaning good ole boys to see your lying ledgends of greatness fade away. ..........cant tell lil Jr. how great the good ole days were anymore without including good ole guys from other walks of life. keep your pity and sympathy for your sheltered little offspring, they will need and appreciate it. OH yeah Barry probably did use "roids" the same ones the other 60% of MLB users use since Barry and his fellow "black americans" make up only 13% of the major leaguers Cansaco claims is using steroids then where are the "Great White HYPES" deserving of boos and hisses. and angry bloggers stroking one anothers wounds because of the terrible betrayal.

Every time a black person points out the racist cry baby sore-looser attitude of the media. some fool responds by saying something along the lines of "no pity" or "no sympathy" For Bonds..... No one is seeking pleading for or needs your sympathy or approval (especially not Barry) simply pointing out the blatant facts............Barry Bonds is being singled out for criticisims that fit many other white players in cluding "ROID-RAGE" Clemens who somehow is givien a pass during the so called legitimate scruitny of old age athelets who excell pass their mid thirties. Its hard for you bitchy moaning good ole boys to see your lying ledgends of greatness fade away. ..........cant tell lil Jr. how great the good ole days were anymore without including good ole guys from other walks of life. keep your pity and sympathy for your sheltered little offspring, they will need and appreciate it. OH yeah Barry probably did use "roids" the same ones the other 60% of MLB users use since Barry and his fellow "black americans" make up only 13% of the major leaguers Cansaco claims is using steroids then where are the "Great White HYPES" deserving of boos and hisses. and angry bloggers stroking one anothers wounds because of the terrible betrayal.

I respect Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron for not using steroids and should be admired for their born abilities and talents, not enhancement drugs.

Barry has admitted that he did not know he was taking steroids.

I know that this is not 1912 anymore, but if we love baseball, bring back the integrity to game.

We are all fooling ourselves thinking that when Barry Bonds break's Hank Aaron’s record without steroids.

It’s like the story of the king who wore clothes, but was naked.

Let’s stop pretending. We are so bored right now with baseball that we are cheering for some excitement that we cheer for the wrong reasons.

Let's be real. Is fame and glory really worth selling your soul? Knowing that in back of most everyone's mind and he has cheated baseball.

God will be the last judge. We should set good examples for our
kids not like this.

When I look at Bonds, I see a man who took steroids. He seems like an all-around phoney. The smug asshole look on his face. I will never believe in him, ever. Where Hank Aaron was golden, Bonds is plastic.

His ultimate goal was to break the Hank Aaron's home run record, which he's succeeded in doing with the aid of performance-enhancement drugs. But he's also done so to the detriment of his team. He's never been on a world series winner. Probably has a lot to do with that "Me-First, I'm Barry Bonds, and I-don't-give-a-f**k-about-you-fans-attitude." This contrasts with Aaron, who not only broke the HR record cleanly in his day, he was also a great player and TEAM player. Aaron wasn't just a superb home run hitter. He could field and he could produce hits. He ended up with nearly 4000 hits. He also took his teams to the World Series and actually won one. He was truly one of the all-time greats--in any era.

They shouldn't let Bonds, that Steroid junkie into the Hall of Fame. His records should be laced with double asterisks (***).

I've tried to understand what bothers me about Barry Bonds, and now I know. He's a total SLEAZE. There's nothing authentic about him. He cheated to get where he is and then denies it as if to absolve himself of any guilt. That's what the whole steroid controversy is all about. Denial. Lies. cheating. Perhaps he still would have been a prolific homerun hitter, but he'd probably be at least 60 homers short of where he's at now and more likely he'd be at least off by 100. In all honesty, Bonds wouldn't have even come close to the record if he had to do it legit. He wouldn't have had the momentum to do so.

You should all listen in to the debate about performance enhancing drugs and Barry Bonds on the Bob Zadek Show this Sunday 2/15 at noon PST. He will be interviewing Lance Williams, the author of "Game of Shadows. Barry Bonds, Balco and the steroids scandal that rocked professional sports." There will also be commentary from Travis Tygert, CEO of the US Anti Doping Association. Click on this link http://www.910knew.com/main.html and choose the listen live option. It will be an amazing program!